The Hierophant (or The Pope, The High Priest) sits on a throne with worshippers at his feet, his right hand raised in blessing. The image conjures up assocations with power, tradition, conservatism, guidance, and communality. As the fifth card of the Major Arcana, the Hierophant can be linked to the Fives in the Minor Arcana. These all seem to be about loss, and more specifically about the loss of control. How does this relate to a religious leader?

 

The fact that we don't have control over matters that may impact our life profoundly can be very unsettling. Especially in Western societies, we tend to think that a life is primarily shaped by the individual living it, making sudden misfortune and loss all the more confronting. The aimless, senseless havoc the world wreaks on us may give rise to a lasting sense of powerlessness. Now, from a secular perspective, religion may be interpreted as a mechanism to deal with that which is outside our sphere of influence. Let's hypothesize that God is a personification - a deification - of all that is beyond our control. Within this metaphor, it would be quite apt to say that God is omnipotent and omnipresent, and that His ways are unfathomable. The believer should strive to accept these ways nevertheless.

 

Our Hierophant, then, is a true 'pontiff' in the sense that he is a bridge-builder between us and the Utterly Uncontrollable (UU). He shows us to connect with UU and accept it into our lives. Although UU may rightly be feared, true hope lies in realizing that it may also surprise you with great wonders. And even in the face of absolute powerlessness, the Hierophant points out that you still have control over how you react to that situation: you decide how you want to shape your relationship with UU.

 

The Hierophant may also advise you to investigate where exactly the boundary is between you and UU, and how sharp that boundary is drawn. Because the more you are aware of the extent and limits of your personal sphere of influence, the better you can focus on making effective changes right there. Continuing the frustrating struggle with UU in the vain hope that you may still gain some control over it is merely a misguided squandering of your time and energy. This was something the Stoics realized too:

 

What the whole thing comes down to, distilled to its briefest essence, is making the choice that choice is really all we have, and that all else is not worth considering. ‘Who (...) is the invincible human being?’ Epictetus once asked, before answering the question himself: ‘One who can be disconcerted by nothing that lies outside the sphere of choice.’

 

Or, as a well-known Christian prayer puts it:

 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

 

As a religious leader, the Hierophant ultimately represents a paradox: to gain control, we must first be prepared to give it up.